Blank Space
by Kaista Miher
Summary: It was considered bad form to 'make someone wait' when it came to doing the Ritual. But Felicity Smoak had her reasons for waiting to find her Match. Billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, the other end of said Match, can't wait to hear what those reasons are. Never had she wanted a Blank Space more.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Green Arrow belongs to DC Comics. Arrow belongs to the CW and Greg Berlanti. The AU concept is mine. I'm making no money off of this, please don't sue.

Chapter One

Felicity didn't know why they bothered with the robes.

The alcolytes all worked shifts at the Temple of Promise on a part-time basis, and they all had REAL jobs 'outside.' In fact, the girl who passed her the Stone she would be using worked at Starbucks. In fact, Felicity was 99% sure she misspelled her name ('Felsitting') on her cup last week. Which made the drop of blood necessary for the Ritual that much harder to give.

One of the rules was that one wasn't supposed to act as if one had seen them before, however, so she ignored the recognition. Even if the judgment she saw upon declaring her age was harder to set aside.

As she was led into a small corridor in the large stone and marble monolith that was at the center of any major city, Felicity struggled not to roll her eyes.

Okay, so she was two years out from when people usually went to get Matched. And she had been in Starling City for a year. There were no hiccups with the usual checks done during Matching: she was clean financially, physically and legally. Then there was the fact that she had been single for three years.

Nothing existed that prevented her from coming in to do the ceremony.

Except... her parents' Match had gone south.

Woke up one morning, and her father was gone. Never saw him again. His name was still on her mother's Stone, so he was alive, but...

He hadn't checked on her since she was seven. So she tried not to think about him too much, either.

So her opinion on Matches wasn't that great to begin with.

When she got together with Cooper, she met someone with a similar history with the Matching system (his parents were divorced, and had been since he was two, with two more marriages between them that had also failed), and they both decided they didn't need it. They were so happy...

Then Cooper got arrested.

True, hacking into the school system to 'liberate' people from their student loans hadn't been a good idea, but watching the cops wrestle her boyfriend to the ground was traumatizing to her 19-year-old self, to say the least. Okay, so she had to be restrained by two officers at the time, but still. She thought it couldn't get any worse.

Then Cooper committed suicide while behind bars.

That pretty much killed any desire to get into another relationship, Matched or otherwise.

As the young blonde and blue-eyed professional and the other UnMatched were led into the Hall of Matches, her thoughts were brought to her mother.

She was, after all, the whole reason she was there in the first place.

Her mother, Donna Smoak (the natural blonde of the two of them), found a lump in her breast, and while Felicity was skeptical, she flew to Vegas to attend the doctor's appointment with her.

The diagnosis came back as Stage 2 cancer.

It wasn't an immediate death sentence, but... Felicity was dumbfounded. She always knew her mother would go first, but even with it being Stage 2, she knew it was the idea of death that bothered her, not the reality of it... yet.

And the doctor warned them it might spread, but... that could have been just as a precaution. Her mother had been healthy to start with, so Felicity felt this was unlikely.

Get some pills, maybe surgery to remove the lump, and it would be fine. That's what she kept telling herself.

But her mother being the way she was, she had a far worse reaction to it. Her panic made her crazy with worry, babbling and shaking and unable to function. In the end, Felicity wound up flying her back to Starling on her own return trip. Starling City had better doctors and facilities, all around.

It would ease her mother's mind, she thought.

Then her mother started fussing about Felicity being alone in the world.

Under the hood of her lavendar robe (a stark contrast to the mens' red or the aclolytes' black), Felicity fought not to roll her eyes... again.

Cancer was a lethal threat, to be sure, but she was ONLY Stage 2, and the doctors were confident they caught it in time, even with the warning. But Donna was worried, and Felicity would do anything to aid in her recovery (if only so she could go back to Vegas. Much as she loved her mother, she was best in small doses).

So she wound up at the ToP, feeling judged.

She understood, in a way. It was considered poor taste to 'make people wait' by not going through the Ritual at age 21. One got Matched, as a rule, to someone in physical proximity (Fate usually got credited for this, as the odds were astronomical, though Felicity had her doubts). So if you waited, it was considered bad form, if only because the person had been there the entire time and you chose not to acknowledge them. It was seen as basically ignoring them. And ignoring people was rude.

It was one thing if someone died; word had it that the Stone erased the Blank Space if that happened. (If there was a name in said Blank Space, it was known to fade over time. The Ritual could be performed again once it was gone.)

But... if your Match had yet to perform the Ritual, the Space remained Blank until they had done so or, as previously stated, had died. This led to many people 'waiting' for a Match they might never get.

Not something Felicity would really be bothered by normally, seeing as it held so little meaning for her, personally. The Ritual had fallen out of favor until recently and hadn't been utilized by the populace as much as it was before, and people had been adopting the practice of finding their own Matches. Not something condoned by traditionalists, but the old Matching method of Dating was becoming more popular. Since the world was no longer dying (as it had been when the Matching system was organized by ancient mages, it was said), people thought it safe to go against the grain.

Not that Felicity had availed herself of Dating, but she saw other people be very happy with it. So she thought maybe it could work for other people, even if her own attempt had ended in disaster.

Then the president happened.

It had nothing to do with his politics (though Felicity had her own issues with some aspects of them). Or anything he enacted on Congress.

No, it was his UnMatched marriage.

Or, rather, his FAILING UnMatched marriage.

The president was one of the pivotal figures in the UnMatched Marriage Movement (the UMM). People who felt the Matching system was outdated and didn't guarantee long-lasting unions any more than Dating did. His own union was held up as proof positive that it could work.

After all, both kinds of unions required actual effort in order to function properly. Felicity had been low-key supporting them, even if she wasn't actively looking for a mate.

But then... the cheating allegations started. From multiple women. Throughout his campaign. Not unlike other politicians, true (it was common to think most of their marriages were UnMatched, though it was likely only a small number, if only out of superstition), but with him being the first UnMatched president in office, the scandal did incredible damage to the Movement, and caused an upswell in legitimate Matches being made across the country.

Felicity hadn't wanted to go through any kind of Matching method, regardless. But, with all the turmoil going around, it just made the most sense to go through the Matching process and be done with it.

Besides, there was still a chance she would only wind up with a Blank Space.

She hoped.

She was in line with about 10 other UnMatched. The robes petty much covered everything, though they got people into a simple linen shift before they put them in one. The whole process was supposed to take an hour, but Felicity's was taking two, because of the number of people.

First, there was the 'purification process.' It involved 'washing the world away' in a pool blessed by the alcolytes. Felicity thought it was silly; she showered first thing that morning. Though, she admitted that having them bathe made sense; nobody wanted to be around someone who smelled, and not everyone had her common sense when it came to personal hygeiene practices.

Second, they changed into their robes. Lavender for the women, red for the men. It was supposed to make the women seem more demure and the men appear 'strong.' Felicity didn't pretend to actually UNDERSTAND this reasoning. She just put the robe on and came out, wanting to get the show on the road.

Third, they gave their information and received their Stones (rounded, flat discs big enough to display a name). Each Stone was 'fed' a drop of their blood to make it 'theirs.' (Not pleasant, but it wasn't unlike having a doctor do it, and it was done in a completely sanitary way, so...)

Fourth, they got led into the Hall, toward the dias that usually only held three sacred bowls. Due to higher demand, it now held five. Which meant they would be going through the actual ceremony twice.

Felicity would be going up with the second group.

As she watched the first five go up, Felicity wondered how many usually got names. She would estimate less than half. She was a little surprised when it turned out to be three out of the five, and they moved back, making way for her and the other four UnMatched waiting their turn.

They each took up position in front of one of the shallow bowls. They were ornate, and each had a large spoon with a small set of slits in it to both set the Stone in and take it out of the bowl.

"Remember to only look at your Stone," the female officiate said. She was slightly older than the alcolytes, dressed in gray, her long brown hair pulled over her shoulder in a ponytail, with blue eyes. "We respect privacy within these walls."

That was one of the main selling points for Felicity. The ceremony was meant to be 100% confidential. She was unclear as to what generally happened to those that violated the rule, but rumor had it that it was pretty steep.

Hopefully, that was deterrent enough for most people.

Finally, they started the ceremony.

The first officiate joined hands with the other two, and they started to say the Blessing on the Stones:

"Let the Match be revealed to the eyes,

"The name unveiled, divested of disguise.

"Let the Match be pleasing to both eye and mind,

"So that no discord they shall find.

"The union is not complete,

"Until the Intended's lips shall meet.

"With a kiss, the truth is revealed,

"And the union Matched, is sealed."

In tandem with the others (two women and two men) Felicity dipped her Stone into the water. As with the first five, a mist rose from each of the bowls. That happened whether there was a name or not, so Felicity waited. And hoped.

Finally, the mist cleared.

And she stared. In horror.

Not only was there a NAME, it was one she recognized.

How could she not?

It was that of her boss, Oliver Jonas Queen.

Oliver. Jonas. Queen.

After another moment, she fished the Stone out shakily and dried it off, moving to join the others.

Turns out, she was one of the 'lucky' ones to be Matched. Six out of 10 had received names on their Stones. A few were excitedly making plans to go talk to them as soon as possible. She was one of two still very much in shock. One of the ones who had a Blank Space was looking at it, a little forlorn.

Felicity found herself feeling rather envious of her. While the woman would have unanswered questions... at least she didn't have to deal with the awkwardness that now stared Felicity in the face as they left the Hall.

Going to the ladies' dressing room, Felicity got back into her street clothes as she stared at her Stone, sitting in the tray in her locker.

She wouldn't be able to hide it from her mother. Like other Matching Stones, the name wasn't merely written on the surface. It was engraved, and there would be no way to mimic her desired Blank Space before her mother saw it tonight.

Others had tried. Paint flaked off, marker disappeared, and putty seemed to be pushed out by some unseen force.

Swapping Stones was also out of the question. It was considered a form of identity theft, and was punished severely. Each Stone had the others' name on it, and even on the off-chance one could get away with it... Felicity shuddered. It was never worth it.

The results were never to be Googled.

As the name was literally set in Stone, there was no changing it, either. No matter what was done to it, the name remained crystal clear. They also couldn't be blown up or destroyed in a fire. Stones had been known to be found after plane crashes, house fires, and even in the aftermath of natural disasters. There were some Stones that were found in farmers' fields weeks after a tornado had hit.

Again, Felicity didn't believe in magic, but... one couldn't argue with facts, and many of the anecdotes were backed up by solid evidence.

She could (maybe) skirt her mother or get her to keep it to herself for now with some vague promise to do something about it 'later,' but... her concern lay just as much, if not more, with the man in question.

Her interactions with Oliver Queen were minimal, at best, mostly passing each other like ships in the night. But they still worked in the same building, which fact was suddenly more stress-inducing than it would normally have been. (Felicity was most comfortable keeping her head down, after what happened with Coop, and garnering the attention of the big man in charge went against that particular 'mission statement.')

Made all the worse by the fact that Felicity had chosen to do the Ritual before work. Not that she could have known she would get her boss' name on her Stone, but clearly, she could have thought it through a little better.

Maybe Oliver Queen never looked at his Stone.

Maybe he packed it away after getting a Blank Space, never to pay it any mind ever again. Rich people probably ignored their Matches, preferring to pay them off and marry someone more befitting their station, if they weren't already.

She hoped he was one of those rich people.

Taking a deep breath, Felicity picked up her Stone, slid it into her purse, and left the ToP, making sure to sign out and reluctantly acknowledge receiving a Match. It was only for their records, anyway, so there was nothing to be worried about when it came to anyone finding out.

Gripping her purse strap, she went back out into the world at large.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Not for the first time, Oliver Queen wished his Stone would simply disappear.

It was really the only thing he hated about the office he inherited from his father. That little Plexiglass box that once held his parents' Stones continually mocked him whenever he entered his office, sitting there on the corner of his desk.

Because he knew his Stone still held the dreaded Blank Space.

He did his best not to look at it. There was no point in torturing himself with it. That damage was already done seven years ago. Seven years ago, when the Ritual became the worst four-letter-word he could think of.

They were a little drunk that night. All three of them. The alcolytes at the ToP hadn't been enthusiastic about letting them in, but it was probably a slow night, because they did. Also, Tommy could be very convincing when he wanted to be, even inebriated.

He, Laurel and Tommy got ready, and were the only three people in for the ceremony at that time. It was supposed to be romantic (with Tommy along to play chaperon or third wheel, depending one when in the night he was asked); he and Laurel were so sure of what their Stones would say that they started to dip them before the officate was done with the Blessing. But finally, they were allowed to do so.

Then the unthinkable happened.

When the mist cleared, his Stone only had the Blank Space.

Laurel's... did not.

Instead of the Blank Space (which Oliver was willing to deal with), she had a name.

Thomas Merlyn.

When he looked at his best friend, the awful truth was confirmed.

His Stone, when Tommy reluctantly showed him, said Dinah Laurel Lance.

The silence was full of shock... and hurt.

Oliver had left within moments of the reveal, even leaving his Stone behind (something considered to be bad luck). He didn't go home; instead drinking himself to sleep at a nearby hotel. He was found there the next morning by the newly Matched Tommy and Laurel.

They talked at length about what had happened. It wasn't considered wise or even a good idea to go against what the Stones said, and the situation was bad enough that none of them wanted to chance more bad luck by defying what had been engraved. As hard as it was to give up what he and Laurel had, he wasn't willing to make things all the worse by pretending he hadn't seen his best friend's name on her Stone.

Oliver managed to convince them he was going to be okay. He even took back his Stone with a smile, letting them take him home before the went to go tell Malcolm and her parents the news. Malcolm because it was polite (Tommy still didn't like his father after the man had abandoned him for two years as a child) and her parents to let them know of the situation. Her sister would need to know, too.

Being Matched was a big deal, after all. One step away from being engaged, if one played their cards right.

It wasn't until after they were gone that Oliver sneaked into his parents' liquor cabinet and once again drank himself into oblivian.

The next few years were a blur.

Lots of alcohol.

Lots of women.

Too many mornings hung over.

He remembered taking a job with the family company, but as soon as he figured out how to do it half asleep, he was back to drinking.

There was a brief fling with Sara Lance, but she couldn't handle drunk Oliver and next thing he knew, she was backpacking across Europe, only sending the odd postcard home to her parents. No one except for them knew about the fling, so he only really heard through Laurel and Tommy, who grew increasingly concerned about his condition.

There might have been an attempted intervention. He felt he skipped out on it right before, though he could never be completely sure.

What he DID remember was no matter how hard he worked to bury his pain and loneliness, it would all come back. Especially when he looked at his bureau and saw this Stone with it's horrible Blank Space.

The same Stone sat on the corner of his new desk, where he could see it, even as he faced toward the wall of windows that looked out over the city.

He came out of his fugue when his sister, Thea, was born.

It wasn't immediate. His mother's late-in-life pregnancy was shocking enough to penetrate the fog he was in, but even with the position he was begrudgingly occupying at QC, it was Thea's birth that finally dispelled it.

He woke up to her crying one night. It wasn't surprising; even in his limited experience, he knew this was something babies did. And he knew Thea had been born with an illness he couldn't name, which didn't help. But when she kept crying, Oliver was forced to get out of bed to investigate.

What he really wanted to do at that point was find a nice shot of bourbon, not being in the best mood, but he didn't go find one. When he got to the nursery, all thought of drinking left when he saw Raisa fast asleep in the room's rocking chair.

The maid took care of a lot in the house, and part of that was help in child rearing. Oliver himself saw her as a second mother figure. Which was why, not entirely sober, he walked over to Thea's crib without waking Raisa.

Carefully, with half remembered instructions from his mother, he lifted his dark-haired baby sister from her bed. The three-week-old newborn fussed, as if aware her usual caretakers were either out of the house or asleep. But as Oliver rocked her, she started to quiet, and looked at him as if studying him.

It was the first time he really got a good look at her, either. At the time, her brown eyes set off a flare of recognition, but it was gone just as quickly. After rousing Raisa and sending her to bed, he sat in the rocker and laid Thea along the seam of his thighs.

Their mother would find them in much the same position an hour or so later, with Oliver letting his fingers be grabbed at by Thea's tiny hands.

The road to sobriety was still long, but he was starting to heal, at that point.

His work improved.

He was home more often than not.

It seemed like taking an active role in raising his sister was saving his life.

He even stepped in as best man at Tommy's wedding to Laurel with minimal discomfort, dancing with the then-two-year-old Thea at the reception, as his 'date'.

Things were going well.

One of his hands gripped the file folder he held, and the other formed a claw on the window over the clouds that still covered the sky.

Then their parents took their boat, the Queen's Gambit, out on a spur-of-the-moment trip. It was only supposed to be a few days, with Oliver babysitting Thea in the interim.

Only a few days.

Then a freak storm hit.

And the Gambit came back to shore... in pieces.

The bodies were found a week later.

Oliver took steps to retain control of the company (easier to do now that he was sober, and being the eldest surviving Queen), and retain custody of his now four-year-old sister. Even keeping Raisa on to ease him into his new role.

Moving into the master bedroom had been... difficult. Necessary, given his new role as head of the household, but difficult.

Explaining why Mommy and Daddy weren't coming home to his bereft sister... Thea still had trouble sleeping in her own bed, months later.

But his confrontation with Malcolm Merlyn last night was by far the worst thing to come out of the tragedy thus far.

At first, he thought Tommy's father was there to offer condolences or help. And he did both. But then he handed Oliver a manila envelope.

Turns out, his parents had hit a rough patch in their marriage roughly five years earlier. Oliver was still in his 'drunk phase' (as he called it) at the time, but he vaguely remembered there being tension and problems, and he felt guilty, knowing he was probably the cause of at least a few of them. His father had strayed outside his Match and the other woman was promptly dispatched as soon as the betrayal was discovered. Oliver didn't even remember her name.

Turns out, as much as his father had strayed, so had his mother. Once, to be exact. Just once.

With Malcolm.

According to the paternity test in the envelope, there was a 99.9% chance that it was Malcolm who fathered Thea, not Robert Queen.

That was bad enough, but Malcolm had one more bombshell to deliver. Due to new information and their new circumstances, he would be filing a motion to gain custody of Thea.

As her biological father.

That was precisely the WORST thing Oliver could hear in his current state.

He LOST IT.

They argued, and in the end reached an impasse; Oliver didn't want Malcolm to have the chance to hurt Thea the way he did Tommy (father and son had, at best, a civil relationship these days), and Malcolm argued that Oliver had just as good a chance, if not better, of doing the same, never having experienced fatherhood himself.

Malcolm thought that by taking responsibility for Thea, he would be doing Oliver a favor. After all, he was already taking over the company, and that was a huge weight. Raising a small child would be more stressful still, he pointed out. Seeing Oliver did not feel the same way, he offered to make him a deal; if Oliver could find a wife in the next six months, he would let Oliver keep Thea.

If not, Malcolm would file the motion and begin proceedings to bring Thea to what he felt was her 'rightful place.' The fact that Malcolm himself was a widower didn't matter that much; he felt he would never find anyone to compare to his beloved Rebecca. Her name had yet to fade from his Stone.

His brief affair with Moira notwithstanding.

He felt his previous experience had taught him valuable lessons he wished to implement with his unexpected 'gift'. And he had a new daughter-in-law who could provide the necessary feminine influence.

But, he was willing to let Oliver try to prove himself 'worthy' of raising Thea.

All he had to do was find a wife to complete his family (Malcolm felt that Raisa didn't count, even if Oliver did).

Nevermind that Oliver's Blank Space had never been filled.

In all honesty, that never stopped people in their class.

Oliver was simply not eager to walk down the aisle, in 10 minutes, in six months, or ever.

Heaving a sigh, he pushed away from the window and made his way over to his desk for the first time that morning.

Only to abruptly slow as he got a good look at his Stone, the closer he got.

It had changed.

For the first time in seven years, it had a name on it.

Oliver broke into a run, eating up the few remaining feet between him and his goal.

Lifting the lid off the box, leaving the base exposed, with a shaking hand, he stared at the name now engraved on it.

Felicity Megan Smoak.

He blinked.

Who the h*ll was Felicity Megan Smoak?

Oliver wanted to throw the Stone across the room for all the help it was at the moment, then paused.

Maybe he didn't know who she was, right now.

But rumor had it that the name only appeared if your Match was in the vicinity (as in, at least the same city).

That meant he could easily find out.

It wasn't as if she were Rachel, or Jane, or Jennifer. Felicity was unique enough to really narrow it down. Megan was common enough, but sandwiched between Felicity and Smoak?

He would find his Match by lunchtime.

But he would need help.

Picking up his phone, he dialed his chief of security.

"Diggle here."

"Hey, Dig." Lifting his Stone from it's cradle, he studied the new markings that made up the name. "I need you to look up a name for me."

"Sure thing, boss. What's the name?"

Oliver thought quickly. He didn't want word getting out before he found Ms. Smoak. He especially didn't want that word getting to Malcolm.

That complication he could do without.

"Why don't you bring your rig up here?" he suggested. "This is... sensitive."

A pause. Then, "I'll be there in 20."

Oliver nodded. "Copy. I'll see you then." He tapped the screen, ending the call.

He looked down at the name. Since it had just shown up on his, that meant she must have done the Ritual that morning.

Before work.

Why would she go to the trouble of going to the ToP in the morning? There was a lot of prep that went into the Ritual, and typically was taken seriously enough to be a special trip. Most people made a day of it, especially if they wound up Matched.

She must have felt the need, been that desperate.

But then... why not contact him immediately? She wouldn't have to look for him, at least, not have to put that much effort into it when she did.

He was, after all, the most eligible bachelor in the city.

And, much to his dismay, raising a child alone just made him more irresisitable.

He didn't know why she was delaying the inevitable.

But he intended to find out.

In the meantime, his inbox needed attending to.

Putting his Stone back into place (imagining a matching Stone with his name on it right next to it, he covered it again and went around his desk to take a seat.

Time to get to work.

He jumped in, with more than his usual gusto. Just to get it all out of the way.

Anxious to get on the search for his Match as soon as possible.

This could be the answer he needed to his current problem.

He started typing faster than usual, in a much better mood than he would have thought possible 12 hours earlier.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Felicity hit 'End Call' on her phone, dropping it next to her mouse on her desk, sliding a hand over her sleek hair (pulled back in a ponytail), fighting the urge to run her fingers through it. She wished she had the satisfaction of hanging up an actual receiver. It was more visceral than tapping a screen.

Her mother's worst fears had been realized, as of five minutes ago.

Her cancer had progressed to Stage 3.

That meant chemo.

Probably a lot of chemo.

Felicity leaned back in her chair, trying not to think. Failing.

Her purse caught her eye, and she stared at it.

In it, amongst computer components, her personal tablet and (when she wasn't using it) cell phone, and her cosmetics, was her Stone. Her 'Oliver Jonas Queen' Stone.

It felt like a millstone around her neck.

Her mother asked her about it, but Felicity managed to put her off, saying they would talk that night. That got Donna excited, jumping to the (unfortunately right) conclusion that she got Matched. Fortunately, she missed Felicity's lack of enthusiasm, or ignored it.

Felicity was still working on how to deal with the revelation of who she was Matched with.

She knew her mother would be thrilled.

Not only was she Matched, but it was to one of the most powerful men in the city.

Which Felicity knew most would consider a good thing.

But she wasn't most people.

First, there was the man himself. He had a reputation with the ladies with looks to match, though he must be keeping on the DL lately, since he didn't feature in the tabloids as much. He was still sought after, and the phrase 'billionaire playboy' often followed his name.

At work, he was too intimidating by half. He single-handedly managed to save the company from ruin, and made everyone sit up and take notice in the process. Not someone to take lightly, regardless of his lack of a formal education.

Second, the timing of her Matching Ceremony could be seen as suspect. Having it happen the same morning her mother's test results came back... she shuddered to think how that would go down. True, she wouldn't have known he was her Match prior to, but that she went all would indicate a certain desperation she wanted to avoid association with.

Third, she worked for him. She didn't know what usually happened when it was an employer/employee situation, but she knew that she had worked far too hard to get where she was to wind up a rich man's wife. She also didn't imagine she would be allowed to work after he found out.

Especially since it would make little sense for Oliver Queen's wife to keep working for him.

That just did not happen.

Then there were his present circumstances.

With the tragic death of his parents and gaining sole custody of his much-younger sister, Oliver Queen was very busy and stressed. One only had to look at him to see that. So it was possible that in between his personal tragedy, running the company, and taking care of his sister... he might not be thinking about anything else.

Hopefully, that included his Stone.

Comforting herself with that thought, Felicity turned her thoughts from her way-too-attractive boss to carving out time to take care of her mother. Vaguely wondering if she should have worn something more exciting to work today instead of a floral blouse and black pencil skirt with matching black pumps.

"Got a hit, sir."

Oliver looked up at Diggle, still holding a french fry in his hand. It was about 1:00 pm, and as usual, Oliver hand opted to for a working lunch, and opted also to fed his employee and friend. While it seemed like he hardly moved, there were discarded food wrappers and containers around Diggle's work station. The only remnant being his drink, which sat a safe distance from his keyboard. As usual, the man was decked out in a black suit, though at the moment, the jacket hung over the back of his chair and his white shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.

Oliver, of course, still had some of his fries left, his burger a memory and his drink still ¾ full... though he followed Dig's example and moved it away from his own keyboard. He wore a blue suit, though his jacket had long since been discarded over his coffee table, his own shirt sleeves rolled up in a similar manner. Oliver found himself to be nervous all morning, and couldn't remember what any of his food tasted like.

He was focused on one thing, and one thing only. Finding this Felicity Megan Smoak and hope she was willing to help him with his problem.

He spun out of his chair, hurrying over to his security chief, relieved to hear his pronouncement. True, it was lunch and not before, but Dig had still tracked her down, once again proving his worth to not only the company, but Oliver on a personal level.

Dig had come to work for QC a few years earlier, fresh out of the military and with no battle to fight. His experience, professionalism and dedication had him rising up in the ranks quickly, becoming one of their best. This fact became abundantly clear the day he saved Oliver from a crazed would-be assassin during an interrupted board meeting.

When it came time for the old security chief to retire, the choice of who should take his place was obvious.

Oliver once made the joke that he should just have Dig become his personal body guard full-time; Dig deadpanned that he still had a wife and two kids to go home to, 'sir'.

Oliver met the latest addition, John Jr. (aka JJ) at the company picnic last summer. With Lyla and little Sara, Dig had an adorable little family. Oliver could see how it would be nice to go home to that every night.

He hoped Ms. Smoak was amendable to the idea. Or at least was willing to think about it.

"What have we got?" he asked, leaning over Dig's shoulder to look at the screen.

His first impression was a good one. Thick blonde hair tied back from her face, big blue eyes, beautiful features. Her glasses only served to highlight her delicate cheekbones and perfect skin tone.

She was, without a doubt, an incredibly gorgeous woman.

If he was going to be tied to someone by the Ritual, he could do far worse.

"Graduated from high school early, accepted to MIT early decision, graduated with honors in the top 2% of her class. Only child to Donna Smoak and Noah Kuttler, though Dad disappeared from the scene when she was seven. Last name changed about the same time. Grew up in Vegas. Hired to one of the top companies in the industry at entry-level a year ago."

Entry-level. She would be one of the worker bees at the base of the hive, as his mother would put it. Potentially complicated, but if he could work around her boss, it shouldn't pose too many problems.

"Where?" he asked.

"Well, that's where it gets interesting," Dig told him, tapping a few keys.

"Define interesting." He hoped she didn't work for Merlyn Global. That would be all he needed. For her to work for Malcolm.

Another document appeared on the screen. "Does this look familiar?" the security chief asked.

It was an employee profile. For QC. And printed there, in big, bold letters, was Felicity's full name, and her picture.

She didn't work for Merlyn.

She worked for HIM.

Oliver looked down, processing this information.

And cursed.

"Well," Dig said lightly, "you don't have to go too far to find her. This says she's on the third floor."

Oliver's legs gave out, and he went down. The idea of being that close to his Match was so shocking, it took him a moment to realize his knees hurt. And why.

Fortunately, when Oliver got back to his feet, Dig was nice enough not to say anything.

Nevermind that Oliver could still feel his amusement/mild concern, the fact that he kept it to himself justified both Oliver's trust in him and the many zeroes on his paycheck.

"So what do you want to do, sir?" Diggle asked once his employer got his composure back.

Oliver thought it over. Malcolm had given him six months, but the way he saw it, he didn't have a minute to lose. If he intended to keep Thea, then he had to get a ring on Felicity Megan Smoak's finger as soon as possible.

Whatever it took to make that happen.

He looked at her picture again.

And smiled.

"Ms. Smoak?"

Felicity jumped, her gaze shooting up toward the doorway as, oh, boy, as her Match, Oliver Queen, walked in.

Ohhhh, boy. Oh, boyyyyyy...

Abruptly, she put down the red pen she found herself chewing on, as if surprised it was still in her hand.

It didn't help that the blue of his suit matched his eyes. WHY did she have to Matched with someone so attractive? And be so put together while she had taken off her heels under her desk?

True, he couldn't see them, but the fact remained that she couldn't put them back on without being too obvious.

"Hi," he said, as if nothing untoward had happened. "I'm Oliver Queen."

"Of course!" she proclaimed, rushing to sit up straight. As if by sheer force of will she could make this meeting about anything other than what she dreaded it to be. As discretely as possible, she shifted her feet to slip them back into her shoes. "I know who you are, you're Mr. Queen."

He seemed genuinely amused. Not the reaction she expected. "No, Mr. Queen was my father."

"Yeah, but he's dead." She watched him blink. "I mean, he drowned." She watched his eyebrow go up. "But you didn't. Which means you can come down to the IT department, and listen to me babble..." Another eye blink, but this one with a slight smile. "Which will end. In three, two, one."

Oh, if a hole could open up beneath her right now...

She was surprised to see him smile at that. But when he began speaking once more, her heart sank.

"I think we both know why I'm here," he said. He reached into the pocket of his suit coat, producing his Stone from it's depths.

He placed it in front of her, and she felt her mouth dry up when she saw the surface of it.

There it was. Literally set in stone. Her own name. Felicity Megan Smoak.

Intellectually, she knew it would be on there. Just like his was on hers.

The shock at actually seeing it was still palpable.

"Clearly," he told her, "we have much to discuss."

That was the very LAST thing she wanted to do. "Actually," she said, "I was thinking that maybe we could just... ignore them?" Her suggestion sounded weak to her own ears.

He looked startled. "Ignore them?"

Obviously not a concept that ever occurred to him. Maybe he wasn't the TYPICAL rich person, but he wasn't saying 'no,' yet, so maybe she still had a chance to salvage the situation.

"It could just get... complicated," she said, trying to find a straw to grasp. "I mean, I work for you, so there's a conflict of interest right there. And also there's the fact that I'm trying to career-build. And you obviously have so much on your plate right now yourself that adding a courtship would just make things harder. So... wouldn't it be easier to simply forget this happened?"

Okay, not the best argument she could come up with, but it was better than nothing.

Her Match looked down for a minute, as if he were thinking. During that minute, she dared hope he would go along with her idea.

When he looked up and she saw his expression of regret, she felt her stomach drop.

Oh, no.

"I'm afraid I can't agree with that, Ms. Smoak. There are many things we need to discuss. You are right about one thing, though," He leaned down, scooping up the incriminating Stone off of her desk. "Here and now is not the appropriate place or time. I'll come find you after work."

Felicity thought fast. She could still work this to her advantage. She was ahead on all of her projects, so she could get away with going home early.

Well, earlier. She tended to burn the midnight oil.

She nodded, eager for the encounter to be over. "Okay. See you after work." She never actually said what DAY, so it wasn't REALLY a lie...

Wearing a small smile, he nodded.

She watched tensely as he left her office.

She hoped he didn't hear her sigh of relief.

Felicity hurried back to her office. The 'one last thing' she wanted to take care of before she left had mysteriously morphed into five at the last minute, and she was late for her self-imposed departure.

There was a certain appointment she most definitely wanted to miss tonight.

It was simpler that way.

Really.

She got back to her office... and found her boss, her Match, sitting behind her desk.

He really shouldn't look that delectable. Especially when he was about to turn her world upside down.

His jacket was folded over the back of the chair, and his sleeves were rolled up to reveal his muscular forearms. His tie was off, and the first couple buttons of his shirt were flicked open. He had obviously made himself at home as he waited for her to come back.

Belatedly, she remembered her purse under the desk, and knew why he was so certain she would be back.

Still, she had trouble getting her voice to work. She first had to remember how to breathe. Her shock was that overwhelming. "Mr. Queen...!"

"It's time for our talk," he reminded, levering himself out of her chair. He picked up his jacket, draping it over his arm, his tie hanging out of one of the pockets. He came around the desk to stand directly in front of her. "And given that we are Matched, and it's after work, it would be appropriate for us to be on a first-name basis. Please, call me Oliver." He put out his hand.

It didn't sound like a request.

She took his hand, feeling an electric charge at the contact between them. "Felicity."

He smiled.

That expression should be registered as a lethal weapon.

What it did to her insides certainly couldn't be considered healthy.

She swallowed.

Oh, boy.


End file.
